broj 4 - Katolički bogoslovni fakultet, Split

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Ivan Bodrožić, Benedikt XVI. i apostolska Pobudnica Sacramentum caritatis
BENEDICT XVI. AND APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION
SACRAMENTUM CARITATIS
Main hermeneutic guidelines
Summary
This article, the subject of which is Pope Benedict XVI’s
post-synodal exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis, is articulated
in two parts. In the fi rst, introductory part, sociological and
church context of the Exhortation is explained, i.e. the author
tries to reveal the reasons that initiated the Church Magisterium
to speak repeatedly, in recent years, on the Eucharistic
mystery. In that sense the author indicates the “positive” and
“negative” reasons within the Church and society that gave rise
to this document and to the repeated speech of the Magisterium
on the Eucharist.
The second, central part, consists of fi ve units within which
there are also fi ve hermeneutic guidelines that aid in better
understanding of theological depth contained in this document,
and they are a part of Ratzinger’s refl ection on Christian cult,
even before he became a pope. The Eucharistic mystery is a miraculous
act of God’s love that wins admiration, so that the fi rst
guideline is exactly the theology of admiration, followed by theology
of love. These two are inevitably and inseparably accompanied
by theology of freedom and theology of beauty, while the
mariological dimension is a crown and compendium of all the
elements mentioned.
Key words: Eucharist, cult, sacrament, pope, admiration,
love, beauty, freedom, giving, Mary